The Tower and I: The History of The Canopy Tower

DOCUMENTARY · 22 MIN · 2024 · COMMISSIONED BY CANOPY FAMILY

Synopsis

A former U.S. Air Force surveillance tower in the Panamanian jungle, turned into a world-famous ecotourism icon by Raúl Arias de Para: an instrument of war remade into a paradise for birdwatchers. Commissioned by Canopy Family; premiered at Global Birdfair in July 2025.

La torre y yo: la historia del Canopy Tower, still

WILDLIFE FOOTAGE: ROBERT E FULLER WILDLIFE FILMS · HISTORICAL AND NEWSREEL MATERIAL: ARCHIVE

Technical sheet

Direction & cinematography: Tomás Cortés
Script & montage: Tomás Cortés
Original music, sound design, mix & master: Frédéric Filiatre
Cameras: Tomás Cortés · Victor Castroverde · Robert E. Fuller · Joshua Samaniego · Jorge Pineda
Camera assistant: Joshua Samaniego
Birds & wildlife footage: Robert E. Fuller · Carlos Bethancourt · Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Macaulay Library
Image & colour post-production: Joze Guardia · Estudio 146
Animation & art direction: Filo Animation Studios · Fernando Toussaint · Ernesto Dávila
Illustrations: David Welch · Antonin Schopfer
Digitisation & image restoration: Tomás Cortés · Joze Guardia
Archival footage: Canopy Family Archives · Library of Congress · Archive.org · East Carolina University · NBC Nightly News · Panama: Paradise Found?
Translations & subtitles: Victoria Benítez
Production: ANIMAL
Client: Canopy Family
Premiere: Global Birdfair, July 2025

CLIENT